The second cycle of America's Next Top Model, premiered on January 13, 2004, and was hosted by supermodel Tyra Banks. The show aimed to find the next top fashion model.[2] The cycle's catch-phrase is, "They are all gorgeous, but only one has what it takes".

The prizes for this cycle were a contract with IMG Models, a fashion spread and a cover in Jane magazine, and a cosmetics campaign with Sephora.

This was the only season to feature a cast of 12 contestants. The international destination for the cycle was Milan, Italy.

The girls were picked up on a bus in New York City where they met each other and started sizing up the competition.

They were surprised to find themselves showing up on a U.S. Navy ship, where they met Tyra and found out this is where they had their first runway show. Tyra commented, "They really didn't know what they were doing."

The first photo shoot was a Garden of Eden-themed nude shoot for Fresh Look contact lenses, in which the women wore only sequins and body paint. One contestant, Anna, decided not to participate because, she said, it would insult her husband and child back home.[4] Another, Jenascia overslept and arrived late for the shoot, despite other girls promises to wake the contestants when needed.

At panel, Camille, Mercedes, April, Sara, Heather and Shandi had pictures that stunned the judges, Yoanna's classic face was revered, and Bethany's bust was identified as a problem. Anna and Jenascia ended up in the bottom two. Though the judges were put off by Jenascia's tardiness, they ultimately chose to eliminate Anna, the plus-sized girl of the cycle, for refusing to do the photo shoot, and questionable desire and willpower.

The remaining eleven contestants received runway training from J. Alexander. At the subsequent walking challenge, Catie's gracefulness won her a trip to Carmen Marc Valvo's cocktail party, and she chose Mercedes and Camille to go with her.

At the photo shoot, the girls were required to style themselves using Steve Madden 90210 shoes, before they picked their own best shot for the week. While Catie, Camille, Yoanna, and April did well, Bethany, Heather, and Jenascia struggled with selling the shoes.

Despite Shandi's lack of confidence and terrible runway walk, Bethany was cut, because the judges felt that she didn't know how to pose to flatter her large bust.

The girls got their makeovers, and some were more happy then others. Afterwards, Jay Manuel tested their make-up skills by giving the girls 15 minutes to apply make-up with one mirror, set of brushes, and palette between them. The winner, Yoanna, got a dinner with 3 friends (Sara, Xiomara, and April), while the rest of the girls shopped for, prepared, and served the dinner.

After the challenge, Shandi, who had complained about the heat of the room, collapsed due to exhaustion, causing the other girls to exert concern and aid in order to remedy the situation. She turned out fine, however, and vowed to make time for sleep and to eat as much as she could to prevent it from happening again.

For the photoshoot, the contestants were suspended over a giant hole in the building wearing Laundry by Shelli Segal. Catie struggled because she feared falling to her death, but went through with 12 frames beautifully. In judging, Shandi wowed the judges with her immense improvement. Both April and Yoanna once again did well, and Sara finally showed she was more than just a pretty girl.

Xiomara and Heather were in the bottom two, both for their unsatisfactory photos. Xiomara was admonished for being distracted during her shoot and letting Jay concentrate on Catie's fear of heights instead of her, but it was Heather who was eliminated for her lack of versatility and experience, and coming across too mall-girl.

Camille's personality began to raise issues as she was singled out during a work out session where she and April were competing in a last man standing boxing challenge, which April ended up winning. The contestants' personal style was then critiqued by Tyra and Simon Doonan, who stated that Catie's look was whore-ish. Catie started crying and arguing with Simon, saying he called her a whore, which he didn't and it showed that the rest of the girls were sick of her acting.

The contestants met Betsey Johnson and were challenged to dress in their personal style, but were only allowed to use everyone else’s clothes, not their own. Camille asked Xiomara to borrow some earrings for the show, but decided against using them, putting them on the counter which resulted in the earrings being broken. Camille said that she would get them fixed by her friend, who was a jewelry designer.

Betsey Johnson said Jenascia needed six months of modeling school in order to be right for her show, which is what the episode was named after. She told Catie that she still needed to find what style she had and who she was in order to do it correctly. She said Shandi's strength was that she was not a sexpot and that she shouldn't try to be that and chose her as the winner. The winner, Shandi, got dinner at JL with Cycle 1 winner, Adrianne Curry and picked Yoanna and Xiomara to join her.

The episode also focused on the fact that Mercedes had lupus and that she was scared because of her new medication making her hair fall out. She didn't want to tell the rest of the girls because she said she didn't need the sympathy. She vowed to make it to the top, despite what was going on with her health and to push through.

For the photo shoot, the contestants portrayed celebrities. Xiomara was upset that she had to become a darker color to portray Grace Jones, and Mercedes used the pain of her lupus to portray Billie Holiday's pain.

Mercedes used her lupus to her advantage, giving an emotional shot. Xiomara gave her strongest shot to date, and Yoanna proved she could be commercial, on a high fashion level. Camille's photo was highly praised, but her attitude came across as a major problem. In the end, it was Catie and Jenascia that were in the bottom 2. Jenascia was eliminated because she couldn't compensate for her lack of height with stunning photographs or a personality that stood out in front of the judges.

The girls underwent personality coaching. Shandi broke down after revealing her family treated her like the black sheep and a psychic did a reading for all the girls.

This week's reward challenge was a tricky interview with Janice Dickinson. Mercedes won the reward, a shopping spree, for answering the questions best and revealing her condition, lupus, which she had kept secret until then. She took Sara. Also as part of their reward, Mercedes', Sara's, and Tyra's moms all showed up.

The girls posed underwater for Quench Water. April gave the best photo of the cycle yet, but she came across too uptight in judging. Sara also did well, proving she could be both strong and soft in a photo. Shandi and Camille struggled, but not as much as Xiomara, who Nole said looked like a "walrus wearing chiffon". This eliminated her, despite Camille's bad attitude and dominatrix tendencies.

The photos for the week were simple black and white beauty shots that focused on their faces. Camille was late to the acting class because she went to see a doctor for her puffed up lip, which had swollen due to an allergic reaction.

The contestants then participated in an acting challenge with Mark Collier. Camille decided to not follow the lines and instead, she rewrote parts of the script. Camille was then called clueless by the coach. The winner of the acting challenge was April.

The last stop was a Matrix themed commercial for Rollitos chips. April was hailed for her performance in the commercial and photo shoot, while Camille and Catie fell flat in both areas. Yoanna gave a shot that showed off her bone structure beautifully, and both Mercedes and Shandi showed off their beauty in their photos. Sara came across as pretty, but almost a bit too sexy in her photo. But, it was Camille and Catie in the bottom 2. Camille was criticized for her attitude once again but was ultimately saved, marking the first time a contestant had survived a consecutive Bottom two appearance and Catie was sent home as the judges felt that she was not emotionally prepared enough to handle the modelling industry.

The girls celebrated Sara's birthday, and Sara disclosed her passion for modeling, stating that she wanted it the most. The models then practiced dancing. April stepped it up for Tony Michaels and won the challenge. She took Shandi and Sara to a party with male guests.

Shandi acted flirty and fun with the male guests and was called on it by her boyfriend. They previously had an argument because he wanted to go to the movies with a friend of his who happened to be a girl named Lauren. Instead of a photo shoot, the contestants performed in Tyra's music video for "Shake Ya Body". During the shoot, April nearly pushed Yoanna off the runway, while walking on the wrong side. Shandi performed the best in her solo, Mercedes forgot the choreography and Yoanna messed up again and fell.

Yoanna was in the bottom two for her poor performance in the video, but a teary-eyed Tyra eliminated Sara, who the panel felt was too pin-up and sexy for the fashion world. Sara became extremeley emotional as soon as Yoanna was called.The episode was followed by the premiere of the video.

The remaining girls were taken to a restaurant where Tyra introduced their international destination for the cycle, Milan, Italy. The girls then went on go-sees where Shandi was described as the best high fashion model, Mercedes as being a bit commercial, April as photographing well but weak in other areas,and Yoanna having to work on her body. Camille won the challenge for her strong presence. At dinner in front of Tyra, Camille implied that Yoanna had an eating disorder which was not true.

The girls did a high fashion shoot for Solstice sunglasses featuring designs by Dior, Max Mara, Burberry, Gucci & Giorgio Armani. April had mixed reviews, Camille looked pigeon-toed and was the photographer's least favorite, Mercedes looked commercial, Yoanna hid her body well and Shandi took some of the photographer's best shots all year. She was also praised for her response to rather harsh designers (which turned out to be actors testing the models' attitudes) when asked why she should get booked. Shandi simply responded that if the designers would look at her photos they would possibly see something special there. Camille got the worst review, giving off an attitude that "she knew it all". While she was walking for the designers, they asked her why she walked the way she did, and Camille replied, "This is my signature walk, and it's the walk that's going to make me famous."

Mercedes was in the bottom two for looking commercial and for a lack of editorial potential, but it was Camille who was eliminated because of her attitude and getting very defensive all the time when critiqued.

This was the cycle's recap episode. It was so named because April was afraid when it was implied that they might have to handle such creatures in a photoshoot. Also seen in this episode was a discussion between Jay Manuel and Janice Dickinson, about Heather's Laundry photo.

Male models were invited to come over to the house and had fun with the girls, where Shandi, who was overwhelmed by loneliness of being apart from her boyfriend, ended up having sex with another male model. Lambasted by a sense of guilt, she called her boyfriend, Eric, the next day and told him what happened. Eric got mad and yelled at her before he finally hung up. The next day, Shandi called him back and he wished her good luck in the next photo shoot.

This week, the girls learned how to complement their body with their attire. Then, they were put into the test where they shopped at a flea market and found an outfit that was high fashion and complemented their body the best.[5] Shandi was chosen as the winner and picked Yoanna to join in her reward.

For this week's photo shoot, the girls teamed up to do a sensual, romantic nude shoot. At panel, Mercedes impressed the judges at the judging challenge with her ability to make a piece of cloth look like a high fashion shirt. April was criticized for trying to take control of the photo shoot and Mercedes was criticized for looking too commercial. In the end, April was sent home for being too technical.

For the final photo, the final three had a beauty shot for which they were dressed in the opposite of their normal styles. At judging, Mercedes was hailed for finally looking like a high-fashion model. Yoanna's photo received praise, but the judges wondered if her body was right for the modeling industry. Shandi gave a pretty photo, but wasn't up to par with the other two. This eliminated her, despite giving some of the best photos in the competition.

After the shoot, the remaining two met up with Dean and Dan of DSquared² for whom they walked in a fashion show. During the show, Yoanna broke her high heels and had to use Mercedes' heel, but was able to successfully complete the show.

At panel, the judges were immensely impressed by Mercedes and they felt that she stole the runway show. Tyra recognized the uniqueness of Yoanna's face, and believed that Yoanna knew the modeling industry better than Mercedes. After a long and hard deliberation, both finalists were called in and Yoanna was declared the second winner of America's Next Top Model.[7]

Mercedes has walked for many runways, including John Sakalis, Mercedes-Benz and Rock and Republic. She has signed with Nous Model Management, has an ad coming in Seventeen Magazine and has starred in an independent film.

Sara is interested in being in Sports Illustrated and has a meeting with the head of the swimsuit issue. She has also walked for Rock & Republic.

Catie is enjoying her fame back home, appearing on radio, going back to her old school and walking for Louis Verdad.

Anna is back at home and looking for agencies.

Shandi has reconciled with her boyfriend and her mother. She is a Walgreens clerk again, trying to save money to go to New York City and meet agencies.

Bethany still hopes to model.

Jenascia is working at Hooters and has given birth to a child.

April has done a photoshoot for Stuff magazine and is signed with New-York Models.

Xiomara is a part-time bartender, has an agent, is signed with Boss Models, has done a spread for FHM and has been contacted by 3 cosmetics lines.

Heather is pursuing acting and modeling.

Camille is enjoying her fame and promises we will see her again. Most recently, she appeared in Washington DC's "Girls of Georgia Ave" calendar.

Yoanna has been on numerous talk shows, collected her prizes, walked for Custo Barcelona and John Sakalis, is still very close to her family and does some weekly yoga to tone her body.

Anna Bradfield has done some test shoots and print work such as Robin Callender,Anthony R. Lloyd,The Cotrice Collection,Lila couture bridal gowns and has been featured in MyLittleSecretsOnline.com.

Jenascia Chakos returned to her job at Hooters and gave birth to a child. She has appeared in a few Seattle calendars. She is now a fashion director for a magazine and appeared on an episode of Wheel of Fortune that aired on June 24, 2010.She has modeled for Jhon Catano-Betancur.

Bethany Harrison has gotten married and has done a few test shots and has been in the totally Texas calendar.[12](registration required)

Yoanna House has collected all her prizes and signed to another agency: 1st Opinion Models, and has walked for various designers[13][14] She has done noted modeling work such for Psychology Today, Hannah Anderson, Careline Cosmetics, Jane, Jacksonville, Metro Style, and is an icon for Sephora currently. She has done some commercial work for Declare Yourself and voting campaigns on top of cosmetics commercials with Naima Mora. She has also done some broadcasting work and hosted shows such as Queen Bees and The Look for Less.

Camille McDonald signed with Major Model Management, has appeared on the runway of several fashion shows and has appeared in few magazines. She also launched her own line of lingerie called Lingerwear, for which Naima Mora modeled. She was selected on the first All-Star Season of America's Next Top Model where she was the 4th model eliminated, placing 11th.[15]